Photographic plate holder



Dec. .9, 1947.

D. c. HARVEY 2,432,414

PHOTOGRAPHIG PLATE HOLDER vFiled April 20, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v v v v v v v v v v AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA v L DOUGLASS C. HARVEY INVENTOR #mma BY fil/f .5:

ATTORNEYS Dec. `9, 1947.

D. C. HARVEY PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATE HOLDER 4 'Filed April 20, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2v FIG. 7.

DOUGLASS C.HARVEY lNI/ENTOR TTORNE YS holder.

Patented Dec. 9, 1947 NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATE AHOLDER Douglass 0. -Harvey, Rochester, N. Y., assigner vto Eastman Kodak Company, Roohester,`N. Y.,

a corporation of New Jersey Application yApril 20, 1945, Serial No. 589,321

8.Claims. l1

The present invention relates 'to improvements in photographic vplate holders. One object ofy my Iinvention is to provide a plate holder in which the sensitized element may be both exposed and developed. Another object of my invention is to provide a p-late holder `with a light-excluding device so constructed that it will not be affected by the solutions used for processing a photographically sensitive element contained in the holder. Another object of my invention is to provide a light-excluding devi-.ce in which 'the usual fabric type vof light-lock is 4unnecessary and in which light is excluded by means of the overlapping relationship of parts of the light-excluding members. A still further object of my invention is to provide a dark slide which can be freely passed thro-ugh the light-excluding members for covering or uncovering the sensitized element in the To these and other ends my invention consists of certain features of novelty and advantage to be hereinafter more fully described,

vthe novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In the drawings in which like reference .characters denote like parts throughout:

Figure l is a top plan view showing a photo graphic plate holder constructed kin vaccordance with and embodying a preferred form of `my invention. In this View, the removable back has been removed and Ya portion of an exterior wall has been removed to better show the invention;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 2-,2 of Figure 1 but with the plate holder back in position on the holder;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 13-3 of Figure 1 through the plate holder and, in addition, showing a portion of a camera on which the plate holder may be mounted;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail showing a portion of a luted roller used in the light-excluding device;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail showing a portion of a support at the end of the light-excluding device and illustrating the normal relationship ofthe corrugations thereon;

Figure 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary section showing my improved form of plate holder with the dark slide in an operative or lightexcluding position; and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure l6 but with the dark slide removed for taking pictures.

In the following specification and claims where I refer to a photographic plate holder,` I intend thsterm to be used in its generic sense to include za 'holder in which alight-sensitive photographic emulsion may he carried on a glass plate .or on any other suitable support, such as a cellulose acetate or nitrate base, or a paper base. I generally Vpre-ier lto use known types of so-'called cut film in which the photographic emulsion is carried on a substantial cellulosic base, although my plate holder is adapted to take 'other rtypes of known supports.

It has been found desirable -to provide Aa plate holder for reconnaissance work inwhich a 4film can be yquickly developed after lan exposure yhas been made. Myimprovedplateholder is designed for this purpose and it Amay be removed from la camera and placed directly in Ione or more tanks of processing solution to develop the film while still in the holder and without damage to the holder. `In order to do this, I have provided a plate holder in which the entire holder can be made from materials unaiiected bythe lm treatment solutions, such as vstainless. steel, plastics, and like materials. I have made the light-excluding members of such materials `andthe entire plate holder vis so made that `after used for processing, it can be readily cleaned with hot Waterso that it can be again used for exposures.

My improved plate holder consists of a generally rectangular frame member which includes a top wall I, a bottom wall "2v, and ,two side walls .3 and 4. These ywalls may be made in the form of a rectangular frame and I prefer to make this frame of a suitable molded plastic material. 'The frame is provided with a central exposure opening 5 through which light may pass to a nlm F as indicated in Figure 3 when a dark slide 6 is withdrawn.

The sensitive material or 'lm F may be held in a frame member ',I, generally rectangular in shape, and being channelshaped .in cross section as shown in Figure 3. This frame I lies about a rabbet 8 extending around the four edges of a presser plate 9 which is pressed forwardly by a spring I0 best shown in Figure v2. This spring IEI has a pair of slots I I and I2 in the ends of the spring member which engage studs lI?. and I 4 1carried b-y the presser plate 9. The presser plate is provided with a plurality of apertures I5 through which iluid may circulate. The spring I0 is carried on a removable back |11 fitting into the rabbet I8 in the frame members l, 2, 3, and 4. It is held in place b y means of a spring ,20.piv-

oted upon a stud 2| `carriedr by the camera back i l, the ends 22 and 23 of this spring being adapted toturn into notches 24 and 2,5 in .end plates 25 and Za carried by the walls I and 2. T hus,-when the spring 2B is turned and the ends of the spring 22 and 23 are disengaged from the notches 24 and 25, the camera back may be lifted out and the presser plate 9 and the lrn-carrying frame I may also be removed for loading a lm inte the frame l.

The frame l is provided with a cam-shaped member 2l on that end of the frame 28 which lies closest to the light-excluding members which will be hereafter more fully described. This cam 21 may be made in one piece extending across the end 28 of the frame member l or a number of these cams may be used. In the form shown I have provided one cam 2l at each end of the end side la of the rectangular member l.

The purpose of these cams as best shown in Figures 6 and 7 is to retract the nlm-holding frame il when the dark slide 6 is reinserted after use.

When the dark slide 6 is withdrawn from the position shown in Figure 6 by a handle 5a, it is pulled from the slot 28 in the wall I of the holder. As the dark slide moves away from the hlm holding frame l, the spring I moves the presser member 9 and the film-carrying frame 1 toward an exposure frame E of a camera C as best shown in Figure 3. The exposure frame E is a rectangular fram-e formed on the back of the camera and accurately dening the focal plane of an objective of a camera on which the plate holder is used. The frame E ts into the front of the plate holder as shown in Figure 3, so that when the dark slide 6 is Withdrawn, the sensitive material is thrust forwardly by the presser plate 9 until it comes into direct Contact with the exposure frame E. During this moven ment the iilm may move toward the center of the channel frame 'l so that the iilrn is solely located by the exposure frame and the presser plate 9. This insures accurate film registration and Figure '7 illustrates the position of the parts when the dark slide has been withdrawn and the lm is in position for exposure.

After an exposure has been made, the dark slide 6 is reinserted through the slot 28 and end 29 of the dark slide will engage the cams 2l', moving the iilm holder rearwardly as illustrated in Figure 6, as the dark slide passes down through the grooves 30 which guide the dark slide to and from its operative position. These grooves also prevent the dark slide from bending from its path.

The dark slide is preferably made of thin sheet metal such as stainless steel, and it is provided throughout its length with transverse corrugations here shown as being substantially V-shaped in cross section. These corrugations constitute a form of rack teeth throughout the length of that part of the dark slide which is completely inserted in the plate holder to prevent light from passing through the opening 5 in the plate holder which registers with the exposure frame shape of the corrugations are particularly selected to cooperate with the light-excluding members 3| and 32 which are mounted adjacent the slot 28.

These light-excluding members may consist of rods having iiutes 33 running lengthwise thereof; these flutes being in the general shape of gear teeth so that when the light-excluding members are mounted adjacent to slot 28, the iiutes will lie in an overlapping relationship and con-` A.iently will not permit the passage of light therethrough, Moreover, the flutes are spaced and do not contact one with the other because I thus provide a space through which the corrugated dark slide 6 may be inserted as shown in Figure 6.

The light-excluding members 3| and 32 are provided on each end with suitable trunnions 35 and 36, these trunnions being supported by suitable bearings 3l and 38 in the end plates 39 and 40. Thus, the fluted rollers are revolvably mounted on axes extending parallel to the slot 28 and parallel to each other.

Since the iiutes 33 do not actually Contact, and since it is desirable to maintain the spaced relationship shown in Figure 7, I provide a means or gearing for connecting the fluted rollers so that they may rotate together. This means, as indicated in Figure 4, consists of a. gear 4l; this gear being keyed to a iluted roller 3l. A similar gear is keyed to the roller 32 and since these two gears mesh, both luted rollers will turn together and, in addition, the spaced relationship of the flutes on each roller will always be maintained. Each time the dark slide 6 is inserted and removed, the Fluted rollers will rotate the necessary number of times to permit the dark slide movement, the dark slide moving the nut-ed rollers through the engagement of the uted flutes and the corrugations.

Such a construction is particularly useful for excluding light from the plate holder because the iiuted rollers are preferably made of suitable material such as stainless steel or extruded plastic rods which are unaiiected by the film treatment solution. Moreover, since these rollers are normally spaced apart, and since the flutes are normally out of contact, it is a simple matter to turn these rollers while flushing out solutions from the holder after use.

After an exposure has been made, the plato holder is removed from the camera C and it may be placed directly in a developing bath with the dark slide in place as indicated in Figures 3 and 6. The various solutions may enter the plate holder through passageways provided for the purpose. The end wall 2 of the plate holder is provided with a slot 45 from which a passageway 46 for the solution leads inwardly, so that the solution can readily pass in through this slot which passes around a number of sharp bends to exclude light. The solution can iiow beneath the hlm-holding frame l and across the corrugations in the dark slide 6 and likewise across the lace of the hlm carried by the holder. The only place where solution does not have free access to the sensitive surface of the film is that relatively small area around the periphery of the film which contacts with the channel-shape frame lo. As will be noticed from Figure 3, this area lies totally outside of the exposure frame E so that it is immaterial whether or not this area of the hlm is reached with the fluid treatment baths. developing operation alone can be carried out with the lm in the holder, but I generally prefer to develop, rinse, and x the film while still contained in the plate holder. After thi@` is done, the back l1 may be removed and the wet lm can be left in the frame l for final Washing and drying, or it may be removed from the frame. The plate holder may then be washed out with hot water and dried and it is again ready for use. It might be pointed out that the plate holder can readily be dried by a blast of heated air and the light-excluding members and the uted rods 3l and 32 can be readily turned by such a blast of air and dried at the same time.

While I generally prefer to make the dark slide 6 of a material such as stainless steel, and of a suitable gauge to make this member relatively stiff, it might be pointed out that if a flexible dark slide should be required as, in fact, occurs in some instances, it may be made of thin gauge material and the transverse corrugations cause the dark slide to flex very readily transversely of its length. This is sometimes useful where the dark slide must be curved as it is withdrawn from the plate holder. The end of the dark slide, whether flexible or not, will satisfactorily operate the nlm-holding frame through the cams 21 because the grooves 39 will direct the corrugated dark slide through a definite path in the plate holder from which it will be unable to flex to an extent necessary to prevent the proper operation of the film-holding frame.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself to the precise form shown in the drawings and it is obvious that single plate holders, carrying a single plate, or double plate holders in which two plates are carried back-to-back, can readily be made in accordance with my invention. I consider as within the scope of my invention all such plate holders as may come within the terms of the appended claims. n

I claim:

1. A photographic plate holder having ways to receive an exposure slide and a slot through which the slide may pass, the slide comprising a thin sheet having corrugations extending transversely thereof and of a general rack tooth shaped formation, light-excluding toothed rollers pivotally mounted adjacent the slot, said teeth being of a shape to substantially mesh with and be turned by the corrugated slide and also having a lightexcluding overlapping relationship when said slide is removed.

2. A photographic plate holder having ways to receive a corrugated exposure slide and a slot through which the slide may pass, light-excluding devices through which the slide may pass pivotally mounted at the ends of the slot to turn on axes parallel thereto, said light-excluding devices comprising fluted rollers, the flutes of which lie in overlapping light-excluding relationship, there being space between said fluted rollers to receive the corrugated exposure slide.

3. A photographic plate holder having ways to receive a corrugated exposure slide and a slot through which the slide may pass, light-excluding devices through which the slide may pass pivotally mounted at the ends of the slot to turn on axes parallel thereto, said light-excluding devices comprising fluted rollers, the flutes of which lie in overlapping light-excluding relationship and out of direct contact one with the other, gears connected to each fluted roller for turning said rollers together, and corrugations carried by the dark slide adapted to pass between the fluted rollers.

4. A photographic plate holder having ways to receive a corrugated exposure slide and a slot through which the slide may pass, light-excluding devices through which the slide may pass pivotally mounted at the ends of the slot to turn on axes parallel thereto, said light-excluding devices comprising fluted rollers, the flutes of which lie in overlapping light-excluding relationship and out of direct contact one with the other, meshing gears one on each corrugated roller and each keyed to its roller for maintaining the flutes of the rollers out of direct contact, and corrugations carried by the dark slide and shaped to pass between the flutes of the rollers.

5. In a photographic plate holder, the combination with the holder having a passageway therein, a dark slide adapted to move in the passageway, and light-excluding fluted rollers rotatably mounted on each side of the passageway, the flutes of which have overlapping relationship to prevent light from passing therebetween, of a plurality of corrugations carried by and extending transversely of the dark slide and adapted to pass between the flutes of the light-excluding rollers.

6. In a photographic plate holder, the combination with the holder having a passageway therein, a dark slide adapted to move in the passageway, and light-excluding uted rollers rotatably mounted on each side of the passageway, the flutes of which have Ioverlapping relationship to prevent light from passing therebetween, of a plurality of corrugations carried by and extending transversely of the dark slide and adapted to pass between the flutes of the light-excluding rollers, and gears operably connecting the lightexcluding rollers for holding the flutes thereof in a predetermined relationship.

7. A photographic plate holder as defined in claim 5 characterized by a slide-Way formed in the plate holder for guiding the corrugated dark slide passing through the fiuted rollers.

8. A photographic plate holder as defined in claim 5 characterized by the dark slide being made of flexible sheet metal and flexible transversely in a direction defined by the corrugations.

DOUGLASS C. HARVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 184,897 Perryn Nov. 28, 1876 367,527 Keene Aug. 2, 1887 2,155,962 Visser Apr. 25, 1939 1,945,945 Lowen Feb. 6, 1934 2,235,573 Derman Mar. 18, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 835,300 France Sept. 19, 1938 

